Jerusalem to Be Attacked

1The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel.

Thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, 2“Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. 3It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. 4In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the Lord of hosts, their God.’

6“In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. 7The Lord also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. 8In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. 9And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. 11In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; 13the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; 14all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves.

False Prophets Ashamed

1“In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.

2“It will come about in that day,” declares the Lord of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. 3And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the Lord’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies. 4Also it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive; 5but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’ 6And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’

7“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,

And against the man, My Associate,”

Declares the Lord of hosts.

“Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered;

And I will turn My hand against the little ones.

8It will come about in all the land,”

Declares the Lord,

“That two parts in it will be cut off and perish;

But the third will be left in it.

9And I will bring the third part through the fire,

Refine them as silver is refined,

And test them as gold is tested.

They will call on My name,

And I will answer them;

I will say, ‘They are My people,’

And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”

The Fourfold Hallelujah

1After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; 2because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.” 3And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” 4And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” 5And a voice came from the throne, saying,

“Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” 6Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

Marriage of the Lamb

7Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

9Then he *said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ” And he *said to me, “These are true words of God.” 10Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he *said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Coming of Christ

11And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, 18so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.”

19And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

Doom of the Beast and False Prophet

20And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

PSALM 147

Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.

1Praise the Lord!

For it is good to sing praises to our God;

For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.

2The Lord builds up Jerusalem;

He gathers the outcasts of Israel.

3He heals the brokenhearted

And binds up their wounds.

4He counts the number of the stars;

He gives names to all of them.

5Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;

His understanding is infinite.

6The Lord supports the afflicted;

He brings down the wicked to the ground.

7Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

Sing praises to our God on the lyre,

8Who covers the heavens with clouds,

Who provides rain for the earth,

Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

9He gives to the beast its food,

And to the young ravens which cry.

10He does not delight in the strength of the horse;

He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.

11The Lord favors those who fear Him,

Those who wait for His lovingkindness.

12Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!

Praise your God, O Zion!

13For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;

He has blessed your sons within you.

14He makes peace in your borders;

He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.

15He sends forth His command to the earth;

His word runs very swiftly.

16He gives snow like wool;

He scatters the frost like ashes.

17He casts forth His ice as fragments;

Who can stand before His cold?

18He sends forth His word and melts them;

He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.

19He declares His words to Jacob,

His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.

20He has not dealt thus with any nation;

And as for His ordinances, they have not known them.

Praise the Lord!

The Words of Lemuel

1The words of King Lemuel, the oracle which his mother taught him:

2What, O my son?

And what, O son of my womb?

And what, O son of my vows?

3Do not give your strength to women,

Or your ways to that which destroys kings.

4It is not for kings, O Lemuel,

It is not for kings to drink wine,

Or for rulers to desire strong drink,

5For they will drink and forget what is decreed,

And pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

6Give strong drink to him who is perishing,

And wine to him whose life is bitter.

7Let him drink and forget his poverty

And remember his trouble no more.